Maplewood Mall 2030 Repurposing Abandoned Urban Infrastructure
Alejandro Loza
Shopping malls as they exist today have become relics of the past. E-commerce is establishing itself as the new normal while brick-and-mortar business struggles to stay afloat. Changing demographics and consumer tastes have left behind the mall’s materialistic gratifications in favor of experiential fulfillment. And unpredictable economic conditions, particularly in light of the worldwide pandemic, continue to hamper any prospects of long-term growth or survival. With as many as a quarter of all shopping malls expected to close within the next decade, many commercial territories find themselves at the precipice of obsolescence. What does the future hold for these sprawling structures once they reach the end of their commercial lifespans? What new life could they adopt to become useful and relevant again? LEFT: Initial explorational study model of Maplewood Mall.
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Purpose & Goals What this project aims to address is how an abandoned shopping mall could become repurposed and readapted in order to serve new uses and functions that benefit the needs of its local community and stakeholders, now and into the future. Seeing as shopping malls have historically been singular programmatic sites of commercial function, the repurposed mall must diversify its activity in order to find ways of using existing space to satisfy unmet needs of the surrounding locale. In this inquiry, the project focuses on Maplewood Mall, a regional shopping complex in the Twin Cities, speculating on how the mall could be transformed within the next ten years and what solutions are applied, informed by research into the existing social, economic, and environmental contexts of the mall. Contextual Background Maplewood Mall is a two-level, enclosed regional shopping center in Maplewood, Minnesota, anchored by four department stores, and centered around a large central court. Built in the 1970’s, the mall is an archetype of the traditional shopping mall and was a powerhouse of commercial retail in its heyday, leading to other commercial developments in the vicinity, including strip malls and business parks. Through the 80’s and 90’s, the mall expanded numerous times to accommodate additional business and retailers, but starting in the 2000’s, after a gradual economic downturn and disruption from the technological sector, Maplewood Mall stagnated and in its present shape is known to Existing upper and lower level plans of Maplewood Mall. Courtesy of Washington Prime Group, 2019.
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Surrounding site context of Maplewood Mall, with various points of interest called out. Note that North is to the right in this map.
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be a ‘dying shopping mall’. Several factors have kept the mall in relatively poor
Research & Investigation
shape, including a lower average level of household income in the surrounding
In examining various elements of the property, we see what components are
trade-area population, and a lack of supporting private and public development
present and the possible relationships between things on site. Features like the
like housing and other community-based functions, which have kept Maplewood
topographical changes, property boundaries, the physical building structure, and
Mall unable to compete with more successful, competitor malls in the region. Out
entry patterns onto the property define the spatial characteristics of the mall
of all the shopping malls in the Twin Cities metro area, Maplewood Mall appears
and serve as potential design factors that present opportunities to replace,
most likely to shut its doors in the near future. Recognizing that the mall can no
preserve, or enhance certain qualities of the building and the site. In studying the
longer compete in the realm of physical commerce, it opens the door for new,
surrounding social, economic, and environmental conditions of the mall, several
innovative uses of this existing infrastructural asset. With the property likely to
other things become clear. The city of Maplewood faces a shortage of affordable
be abandoned and unoccupied in the near future, the potential for this project
housing options for residents, with only a two percent vacancy rate of housing
can begin to take shape.
stock. Alongside this, the demographic proportion of residents simultaneously skews towards a growing generation of retirees, and younger, family-bearing populations, meaning an availability of appropriate living spaces would be an important consideration in the mall’s redevelopment. In addition, the proximity of a medical campus nearby brings opportunities for collaboration and integration of services, potentially orienting the site to have a focus on maintaining the health and wellbeing of its users. Furthermore, the property has vast swaths of underutilized parking with almost no natural vegetation on site, so redevelopment of the site could incorporate new landscaped environments to allow corresponding wildlife and ecosystems to exist and flourish. From this, three areas of critical interest, health, housing, and habitat, arise from studying the mall’s contextual parameters that will drive the programmatic adaptation of the property.
Axonometric diagram showing the overlay of various componentry from the mall property.
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Program & Design
surface lot around the mall, encouraging the use of the nearby public transit center
The Re-adaptation of Maplewood Mall addresses three key issues; health,
and alternative modes of transportation to and from the site. In its place, a variety
housing, and habitat. Health will focus on promoting the physical, mental, and
of natural landscape habitats are introduced. These include prairies, wetlands,
social wellbeing of people in order to foster healthy lifestyles. Housing will
oak savannas, and woodlands, all of which are historic native landscapes of the
address the housing needs for growing populations in the city to accommodate
region, and will begin to establish more desirable and hospitable spaces for both
and support their lifestyles. Habitat will concentrate on rehabilitating the site
people and wildlife.
through the introduction and establishment of natural native landscapes once
Within the mall itself, housing is configured and spread throughout the central
common to the region. Each of these programmatic directives are configured and
portion of the building, and is concentrated into several clusters. There are 110
integrated in and around the mall property to create new spatial territories while
different housing units spread across both levels and they range anywhere from
maximizing use of the existing onsite infrastructure.
about 500 to 2700 square feet in size, able to accommodate large families or
The redevelopment of the site includes the removal of nearly all the hardscape
downsizers. Health related programming is primarily located at the ends of the
ABOVE: Conceptual collages of programmatic adaptations for the mall; health, housing, and habitat.
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Proposed site plan showing native habitat landscape features on previously unused surface lot
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mall and encompasses fitness facilities, aquatics and recreational courts, artistic studios, meditation spaces, and a second story jogging track that loops its way throughout the building, among other activities. And areas of natural habitat are located sporadically throughout the building, along circulation routes, in between housing clusters, and at the thresholds of exterior and interior spaces. Several areas of interest are apparent in this reconfiguration and worth closer examination. Central Core In what used to be enclosed central courtyard space that was surrounded by shops on both levels has now been carved out and opened to the outdoors, creating a new entry and thoroughfare into the core of the space from both sides. From the outside, the building mass has been stripped away while the structural elements are preserved and exposed, acting as a threshold between the inside and outside of the building. Proceeding into and through the upper level pathway punctured by openings with trees in them, one reaches the central court space, the central node of convergence defined by the existing and new axis into the building. Kept as an open, flexible space for events and assemblies, part of the jogging track also loops its way around the court, and the previous overhead roof enclosure is replaced with a new structure that allows an abundance of natural light into the space as well as visibility to the outside. Meanwhile, throughout the lower level space is a series of sunken pocket parks resulting from the aforeProposed upper and lower level plans of Maplewood Mall incorporating health, housing, and habitat programming.
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Section through the central core of the mall. A new entry open-air pathway is created as a result of the massing cut, exposing the steel structure and opening previously hidden interior space to the outdoors.
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NEXT PAGE: Expanded view of the new exterior entrypoint into the central core of the mall.
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mentioned series of openings in the floor above, exposing the lower level to
path that circulates in and out of the building, which also provides wide-ranging
the outside while creating a winding, protected space for leisurely walks and
views around the site. The second level also acts as an extended outdoor balcony
informal gathering spaces for people in the building.
which connects all the residences throughout the building and serves as a space where people can hang out with each other, visit other neighbors, or just walk
Entry Passage
around and take in the sights. Additionally, most of the housing units have access
In a previous main entry at the Northwestern end of the mall, housing units
to a shared courtyard that can also be a site for interaction between different
have been added and clustered around the passage area, creating small, neigh-
residents. The courtyard allows for a semi-private space for neighbors to gather
borhood-like blocks of residences. Residents in these housing areas have close
and interact, have space for children to play, and for families to host get-togethers,
access to the outdoor natural landscapes nearby, including wetlands and forested
all of which help strengthen social ties between different groups of people living
areas. For residents on the second story, they have direct access to the jogging
at the property.
Section through the Northwestern enrtyway of the mall. New housing blocks are incorporated around the area, with nearby access to a jogging track, wetland, shared balcony space, and semi-private courtyards.
NEXT PAGE: View towards the entryway and housing blocks from the jogging track, showing the proximity to a nearby wetland habitat.
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Caption if needed this page, else delete this box. Use captions not only to identify (e.g. Interior perspective, or Plan (first floor), but to explain how and why representation is relevant to the project, and/or what it reveals.
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Use an ALL CAPS directive only if the image is not on same page and/or there are multiple images. (e.g. LEFT: or NEXT PAGE: or ABOVE LEFT: ‌, ABOVE RIGHT:) NEXT PAGE: View to structure as screen; an extension fish farm along the East Fraser River in partnership with the Stolo First Nation. Kate Robertson (2014).
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Department Space The spaces in which the main anchor stores were located have also been reconfigured, primarily with health related programming. In what used to be a Sears department store, part of the space is reconfigured into a fitness facility, which incorporates part of the jogging track as it makes its way outside, along with breakout spaces for smaller studio workout sessions that would include high and low impact fitness training for different residents. Outside, a meditation garden resides in the central portion of the space, which has been deconstructed and reduced to an exposed structural grid on the ground level. Trees are planted in every other structural bay, creating a visually intriguing and calming outdoor environment in which to meditate, contemplate, or just be outside, while establishing a unique threshold between the indoors and outdoors. Lastly, a new observation gallery is located towards the end of the space, accessible from the upper level. This space provides an area for relaxed sightseeing and can also serve as space for small exhibitions or artistic studio sessions. Here, the structural elements of the mall are reduced to their bare minimum, a series of exposed columns standing in a wetland that encroaches upon the previous department floor space and marking the final transitional moment from the mall’s built realm to the natural world outside.
Views of the housing’s upper level extended balcony space and lower level courtyard area.
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Section through the Southern department store space of the mall. A portion of the space is retained as a fitness gym, while the rest is gradually stripped away to basic structural components as it transitions into a natural landscape habitat.
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NEXT PAGE: Expanded view of the meditation garden, showing the exposed structural grid and incorporation of trees and natural groundcover.
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Long-term Future With this transformation of the property, there is also an invitation to speculate as to how the surrounding area might potentially change in the future. If the intervention made were translated to the immediate surroundings, it could result in further expansion of the natural landscape habitats. This expansion could connect disparate and isolated tracts of parks and wetlands together to create a larger, continuous chain of natural habitats throughout the area, increasing biodiversity and fostering ecological corridors. Furthermore, potential redevelopment of the surrounding area could result in a greater diversification of land use besides commercial purposes, as well as multi-functional building development that could support a variety of programmatic uses. This could include medical clinics, manufacturing facilities, educational campuses, and additional housing projects, among other things. In tandem, this would also mean a reduction in the amount of commercial enterprise concentrated in the area, given how little commercial retail the surrounding locale will be able maintain and support in the future. With the mall residing among some of the largest commercial properties in the city, it’s important that the area be diversified into other functions and uses to ensure the growth, vitality, and equity of the city and the population in the long term.
Speculative site plan showing expansion of natural habitats beyond the mall, along with new multipurpose development and reduction of commercial zoning.
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Conclusion This project serves as a study as to how existing infrastructural assets can be repurposed and reconfigured in order to serve new uses and functions that benefit the needs of the present day locale. And in the context of the three key issues identified, health, housing and habitat, how these programs can be integrated within an outdated commercial territory while challenging and redefining spatial & territorial hierarchies. Readapting outdated buildings and infrastructure to serve different uses is an important consideration in the context of environmental consciousness and ever-shrinking limited resources. It is crucial to find new and creative uses for existing built assets, which embody a significant amount of energy and materials, while also being able to address particular issues specific to their contexts in order to improve the conditions of people at present and create a template for further improvements into the future.
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Selected Bibliography Chung, Leong, Chung, Chuihua Judy, Leong, Sze Tsung, Harvard University. Graduate School of Design, and Harvard Project on the City. Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping. Project on the City; 2. Köln; New York: Taschen, 2001. Cuff, Sherman, Cuff, Dana, and Sherman, Roger. Fast Forward Urbanism: Rethinking Architecture’s Engagement with the City. 1st ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Dunham-Jones, Ellen, and June Williamson. Dead and Dying Shopping Malls, Re-Inhabited. Architectural Design 87, no. 5: 84-91, 2017. Gruen, Victor, and Anette Baldauf. Shopping Town: Designing the City in Suburban America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017. Here’s A List Of 81 Bankruptcies In The Retail Apocalypse And Why They Failed. CB Insights Research, December 11, 2019. https://www.cbinsights.com/ research/retail-apocalypse-timeline-infographic/. Maitland, Barry. Shopping Malls: Planning and Design. New York: Nichols Pub., 1985. Maplewood Mall. Washington Prime Group, 2019. https://washingtonprime.com/ map/profile.dT/maplewood-mall/. North End Vision Plan: Maplewood, MN. Maplewood, Minnesota. City of Maplewood, September 9, 2019. https://maplewoodmn.gov/1877/NorthEnd-Vision-Plan. Sanburn, Josh. America’s Malls and Department Stores Are Dying Off. Time. July 20, 2017. https://time.com/4865957/death-and-life-shopping-mall/. Shaw, Bob. As Malls Struggle with Retail, More Are Embracing Alternative Occupants. Twin Cities. October 21, 2019. https://www.twincities. com/2019/10/19/as-malls-struggle-with-retail-more-are-embracingalternative-occupants/.
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